Chapter 7: Once Upon a December
Chapter 7: Once Upon a December
Tonight was the first time in a long while that Thoraxis wore something nice. Over his chitinous body was a thick, brown jacket, tailored by none other than Ponyville's own fashionista, Rarity. As he straightened its collar out he heard the sound of the door closing behind him, and turned to the shape of Petra. Petra's large, slouchy newsboy hat lied over her head and dorsal spines, while her pair of glasses rested over her face.
Thoraxis couldn't help but sigh as a wave of nostalgia washed over him from looking at the sight. Her attire was the same as the first night he met her.
"Are you ready?" he asked.
"Yep!" she said.
The two walked down from the path of their house and into Ponyville, which looked very empty from the sheer amount of ponies that decided to take the time to see the show. While they headed toward where the large stage lied, Petra tapped her two index claws together as a worrying thought swirled through her psyche.
Petra deeply wanted to tell Thoraxis the surprise she had been keeping from him, but she knew, to her chagrin, that it still wasn't the right time. She sighed despondently, before letting a smile come across her face.
"So, dear, do you think you'll like the show?" she asked.
"Oh, yes. Yes I do..." he replied in a very low and devious manner that caused Petra to raise a brow. She refrained from asking him what was on his mind though, as they rounded the last building that left the town, and suddenly came upon the hooded, black-and-white shape of Zecora. She apparently hadn't taken notice of them yet, as she was looking forward, to the swamp of chairs that lied in front of the stage, taking in the beauty of the lights that lined the stage and area around it.
"Oh, hello! It's nice to see you Zecora," Petra welcomed, prompting the zebra to turn and welcome them back.
"Ah! Petra and Thoraxis. It's always a treat to see the both of you," she said. "I take it you're here to watch the show too?"
"Indeed we are," the wyvern replied.
"I hope you two find this show to be placid," she said again, giving a glance and wink at the changeling before walking off to find her seat in the crowd. "...Especially you, my dear Thoraxis..."
The words she used caused Thoraxis to put a hoof into his coat pocket. Kept hidden inside was the bottle possessing the magic clay Zecora had given him. While he rubbed the jar, Petra leaned over to him.
"Thoraxis, I saved us some seats in the fourth row," she whispered into his ear. Her brow lifted slightly again as she realized that he didn't seem to even react to her words. "Are you okay, dear?"
Thinking quickly, Thoraxis retracted his hoof from his pocket, and flashed his partner a warm grin.
"Just... looking forward to the show!" he spoke in a lighthearted tone.
Placing his hole-filled hoof into her three-clawed hand, the two walked together to their seats. Squeezing past several ponies in their targeted row, they finally reached their spot.
As he plopped into the seat beside his partner and tried to get comfortable, Thoraxis looked to his right and saw a large shape approach, then sit in the chair next to him. It was covered in an abnormally big, pale brown coat and wore a fedora over its head. A plaid, blue scarf was wrapped around its neck, covering up where a mouth would have been visible, and the only thing on its face Thoraxis could see were two, blue eyes.
"Pardon me," it said from behind its coat, in a burly male voice. Not paying much mind to the figure, Thoraxis sighed, and looked at where the stage was.
Princess Celestia and Princess Luna walked among the grounds in front of the stage and chairs, greeting many passing ponies as they trotted by. They had arrived not seven minutes before, and were expecting their invited guest to meet up with them with a hopeful gleam in each's life. Sure enough, a tall, dark-furred, cloaked figure soon appeared, and approached the two sisters before respectfully bowing his horned head before them.
Longinus, you have no need to bow before us," Luna spoke.
"I have as much reason as any pony," he replied, before motioning a hoof behind himself.
"It's nice to see you again, Longinus," Celestia went on.
"It's good to see you too. If you have the second, I'd also like to introduce you two to someone."
As he finished his sentence, the shape of Carol trotted up to the three and stopped once she was beside Longinus. Carol was dressed, not in her cape of bells, but in a fair and beautiful, crimson dress. Laced into the bottom of the fabric, where the dress touched the ground, were several, golden bells tied at separate, but equal intervals.
"This is Carol," he spoke, motioning to the kelpie. "She's my... well..."
"Date!" she finished, bouncing quickly into the air in a joy-filled manner, her bell-earrings making a jingling sound as she did so. "Longinus tauld me ye tois ur his brammer daughters. Braw tae meit ye baith!"
Celestia's eyes widened in surprise, while Luna simply smiled, in a way that could only convey that she had been, somehow, expecting this moment. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Carol," the Princess of the Night greeted right off in an overtly friendly tone, nodding her head.
"Yes, it... is nice to meet you," Celestia agreed, her previous expression returning.
"Luna, I was wondering if I could talk to you for a moment... in private," Longinus suddenly requested.
"But of course, Fa- Longinus," Luna replied cheerfully, refraining from using what she typically liked to call him, seeing how they were in public. They both turned from Celestia and Carol, and walked off until they were away from their prying ears. Longinus stopped and looked back to his daughter.
"Now, I bet you're wondering why I asked Carol to come along with me, but I can explain," he began.
"Oh, I knew you were going to do something like this," she instantly replied, nonchalantly speaking the words in a way that startled Longinus.
"You what?" he asked, dumbfounded. "How did you...?"
"I'm the princess of the night," she shrugged in smug, but cordial way, her wings stretching out with her shoulders. "I see a great many things while the moon is active. That includes the sight of an alicorn and a kelpie lying in a field of grass by a pond, speaking to each other about things from their individual pasts."
"Eavesdropper," he said with a wry smirk.
"That I may be, but I see how conflicted you are over a situation like this," Luna spoke again. "And, more importantly, I can see why."
"If so knowledgeable in the field of my personal problems, then what, pray tell, is my quandary?" he asked in a quizzing manner. Luna simply closed her eyes and spoke in a matter-of-fact voice.
"I may not be the princess representing love, but I do know when a pony is having an extraordinary amount of trouble..."
Luna stopped and opened her eyes as she thought of the next words to say, putting a hoof to her chin before finding what she thought sounded best.
"...Admitting it," she finished. Instead of a grumpy expression like she expected Longinus to show, he instead sighed like a gambler that just lost a large fortune from a small bet, and gave a weary look to his daughter.
"You're right, and the main reason I wanted to speak was to ask a single question only one of you could answer," he began in a small voice, as his hoof pawed at the ground. "If I were to... fall in love with someone else, would you know if Aurora... would you know if your mother... would approve of such a thing?"
"I believe she would want you to be happy," Luna responded, assuringly. "I believe, with all my being, that she would want you to move on. If you were to say... find somepony that could fill your life once more with love and joy, then I would believe she would want you to be with them. Yes."
"How could you know, though? You never truly met her," he asked. "And how could I know? I haven't felt the way I do around Carol since I was last with her, and it is a feeling I never want to lose again. It feels like... it feels like a void inside me has finally been filled whenever I speak with Carol. To compare her with Aurora though... it feels as if I'm replacing her. As if I'm insulting her very memory."
"You must always remember; the past is in the past," she responded. "Never cling to it, no matter how dear the memory is, but also never forget just how dear it was. I believe you should follow the path your heart has left for you. The path your heart believes is right."
After lowering his head and entering a small moment of silence, Longinus looked back up and smiled to his daughter with a visage of a pony that had just taken an enormous weight off of his chest.
"Thank you... Luna," he said, before wrapping a foreleg around her neck in a small and quick, but powerful hug of gratitude.
"You're welcome," she replied, savoring the feeling despite its briefness. With a nod, Longinus turned from her, just as Carol had started to trot up to them.
"Guess whit time it is, ye tois," she asked, in a way that conveyed the feeling she could barely hold something in.
"What time is it?" Longinus inquired, playing along.
"It's showtime!" the kelpie squealed back with excitement, clapping her hooves together. Running up to Longinus, she grabbed the alicorn by the arm, and swiftly heaved him with her to where their seats were in the front, before he could react. Luna couldn't help but chuckle into her hoof as she watched the two depart.
"What did you two talk about, I wonder?" Celestia asked with a grin, as she walked up to her sister. Luna gave a sideways glance to her older sibling before replying.
"Oh, don't be so coy, sister. I know you heard everything," Luna pointed out in a sarcastic, but by no means insulting voice. "The true question you should be asking me, is if you agree with what I told him."
"Of course I do," she replied. "And I must admit, the way you phrased it was brilliant."
"Shall we get to our seats now?" Luna decided to inquire. "As the kelpie said, the show is starting."
"Is everything ready?" Odyssia asked Thebaid, as the two stood just behind the closed curtains. The disguised changeling princess was dressed in her jade silk dress, and had a breathless expression on her face.
"Yes, milady," he replied, as his aged head swung to her. "You sound a bit nervous. Is something the matter?"
"A small case of cold hooves, but I should be fine," she replied, before exhaling a deep breath. As she spoke, far behind her, the deer Quiverpike was going about examining each piece of the stage's concealed scenery, and writing what he personally felt could be improved upon for the next performance on a piece of paper he held in front of him with a crane-like device in his antlers. When he ran out of space on the paper, he rubbed his beard, put his pen away, picked up the piece, and rolled it up before putting it into his satchel around his back.
"Pharsalia!" he shouted out. On cue, the shape of the young changeling came limping up to him as fast as she could.
"Something you need, Quiver?" she asked. He shook his head up and down in reply.
"Yes. Pharsalia, I'm going to need you to go back in camp and get me a few more rolls of paper. Twelve should do it," he spoke.
"More?" Pharsalia said in a surprised voice. "What happened to the other ones I just gave you?"
"I used them," the deer replied, pointing to the dozen, written-on papers that were wrapped up, and sticking out of his satchel. "And now I need more. If you don't want to make another few runs after this, then try getting me the longer rolls that are in the wicker basket in my tent. Chop-chop, now!"
With a sardonic roll of her monochromatic eyes, Pharsalia turned about, turned her disguise back on, and started for the stage's stairs. When she was gone, Quiverpike looked to the watch that hung around his neck, and then to the princess and her assistant.
"It's time," he said to Thebaid and Odyssia. Odyssia calmly closed her eyes before opening them with a self-assured glare.
"Thank you Thebaid. I can handle the rest from here," she said to her servant in a bold tone. With a confident smile and a bow, Thebaid backed away as Odyssia faced the curtains.
"And here... we... go," Odyssia whispered to herself, as she pushed past the oversized drapes, and practically jumped onto the center of the stage. The stagelight turned on the second she appeared, and shined down upon her, instantly silencing the crowd.
There were ponies everywhere. The entire field had been filled up by all sorts of characters, some she could tell weren't even from Ponyville. If they pulled this off correctly, she knew that the adoration that could be gained from just tonight could sate her and her subject's hunger for quite a while. And they still had three more shows to do this month! They could saved the surplus for another time!
"Ladies and gentlecolts! Welcome to the Theatre Metamorphoses! Thank you for coming to the show!" she greeted in as loud, but practical of a voice she could make. The audience cheered back as she straightened herself out, before slowly returning to quiet as she raised a hoof to silence them once more.
"I have a question. Have any of you ever had that... special feeling you get around the time of winter? The time of cold? The time that brings us all together in a familiar, loving fold?" she decided to ask the crowd, in a smaller, more personal voice. She could hear some of the ponies below talking among themselves in agreement to her words. "Well then... get ready to close those windows and stir those embers! This is a tale taking place way back when, Once Upon a December!
The second she finished, the yellow light above was switched with a purple one. And with this change in lighting, Odyssia began to sing in an almost ethereal voice.
"Snowflakes falling from great white clouds, snowball fights and fortress mounds...
Foals and colts race as they sled, loving parents watching them play pretend...
Friends and family when together shine bright, huddled together for warmth at night...
Dancing on ice, like flying in frozen air on outstretched wings, only a few of my favorite things...
Thinking back way back, these are events I fondly remember..."
Odyssia gave a wink to the crowd, savoring their awestruck reactions to her hypnotic voice, as she began the final verse.
"...Back in the old days of yore... once upon a December..."
In a sudden explosion of blue smoke, Madam Odyssia disappeared from the stage in a most ominous manner. As the mist of blue dissipated and the ponies in the crowd stopped whispering amongst themselves, the curtains slowly opened up and the stage light went on, revealing a set with many buildings. Both set pieces and painted background were modeled after what the city of Trottingham looked like nearly a hundred years ago, in the thick of winter. A purple-furred, female figure in a thick pink dress and bonnet made to endure cold, and a gray-furred male shape clad in a top hat and heavy, dark coat both walked onto the stage from opposite sides, meeting up with each other in the middle, before a large group of background characters started to move a , and murmur among themselves like you would typically hear from a busy street.
"You are looking quite heavenly this December morn, my dear Sunflower," the male said, bowing his head to the mare as the crowd of characters passed behind them both.
"To greet me once more with flattery? Do you ever think to treat me as the typical town-going pony, Shoe Shine?" the character the crowd now knew as "Sunflower" smiled back in a faux-unamused tone with a roll of her eyes.
And with this first conversation, the play began.
The show had been going on for an hour now, and it was wonderful. Simply wonderful. The audience watched with delighted fascination at every scene that went by. Every character seemed to have a life and personality of their own, including the nameless background figures, and that was all without mentioning the incredible acting and special effects, some of the latter which were done by spectacularly-performed illusions.
Longinus himself found the play to be quite enjoyable, and smiled contently. His grin started to lessen however, as his attention became distracted by... something. Looking around, the only things he saw were Celestia, Luna, Carol (whose head was bobbing up-and-down in excitement), and the crowd, none of whom were the cause of his conundrum.
Something undeniable was nibbling on the back of his skull like a tick. He let out a questioning hum of interest as his mind began to search for this strange, familiar feeling. It was so very close, but he knew not where it came from. Stopping her head-bobbing, Carol took notice, and gave a look of concern to him.
"Is somethin' th' matter, Longinus?" she asked, worriedly, gently nudging his shoulder.
"I sense something," he replied, scanning the surrounding area a second time. "A presence I've not felt since..."
His voice went quiet, and his cyan eyes widened in surprise for several seconds, before waning back to the narrow slits they were before. Humming to himself, he began to stir in his seat, before turning to Carol.
"I'll see you soon, Carol. There is... someone I need to meet," he suddenly said to the kelpie. Exiting his chair, he stood up, and began to walk away, toward the campground.
Carol decided to stay put, knowing full well to do so would be against her sense of judgement. Then, remembering that she had no sense of judgement, Carol instead jumped to her hooves, and quickly began to follow the alicorn until she had caught up with him. Before she could go too far, Luna saw the two leaving, and began to stir as well.
"I'm going too," Celestia spoke to her sister. Luna responded by shaking her head in disagreement.
"No, sister. One of us must stay here," she whispered back. "If word gets out that both princesses left their seats during the play... I'd rather not think of what consequences the Theatre could suffer."
"Point taken," Celestia sighed. "Just please make sure those two don't do something that will... end poorly."
"Do not worry," Luna said, with a reassuring grin, before quietly trotting after the two. "I'm sure we'll be back in but a minute."
Stats
Page generated in 0.02 seconds
Total duration
1,043 users online
2,215,819 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Egads! The assassination attempt will start soon!
Also, Thoraxis don't do something stupid or rash.
For some reason the title of this chapter reminded me of the song from the Disney movie Anastasia and why do I feel like someone's going to get assassinated
Dear Santa,
I have been a good brony this year. All I wish for my present is a few more chapters of this amazing story.
Thank you very much.
Sincerely, Gagi /)
Not sure if anyone else caught this, but....
Not sure if it was intentional or not, but I just think it's funny how I notice these small details every now and then.
Is the play supposed to mirror a specific real play?
lay,